Steak and Potatoes

Beef is always part of my weekly menu. However, I mainly make ground beef. Steak is rare in our home. It is fairly easy so as long as you take care to marinate over night. It is my conclusion through the years of cooking meat, that marinated meat tastes even better because the juices have had the chance to soak in.
Part of growing up, beef was never a part of my household. When I came to America, my first taste of beef was a burger. Maybe that is why I feel more comfortable cooking with ground beef, it is just so versatile! So anyway, this is my concoction of different spices that make a fantastic marinade on any steak of your choice!!!



Marinade for Steak
1/3rd cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 medium cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of fresh or dried rosemary
Lime juice of one fresh lime
Salt & Pepper to Taste
I bought 4 Round eye steaks (they were tiny)

Mix all above ingredients together. Add Steak. Marinate over night.
Grill steak as to desired taste

Skillet Potatoes
8 medium to small Yukon gold potatoes
1 green bell pepper, cored & diced
1/2 white onion diced
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of paprika
Butter & Salt to taste

In a sauce pan full of boiling water, add the potatoes. Boil approximately 10-12 minutes, or until they are partially tender when a fork is inserted into them. Remove from water, drain and dice. In a skillet heat butter, add bell pepper and onions. Sautee veggie mix till they become soft and onions turn golden. Add diced potatoes, garlic powder, paprika and salt. Mix well. Cook the potatoes till they are a bit more tender (another 7 mins or so). Remove from heat and serve with grilled steak.

Tacos Al Carbon

The reason I love Whole Foods is because of the quality of their meat. I almost never know what I am going to make when I buy different cuts of beef. With chicken, I stock up because its the only meant I feel confident in. I can do anything with chicken and it turns out good. For the better part of my life, I was "beef-free." In restaurants, I would order steaks and in diners, burgers. As the years passed, I attempted to cook it myself. Flank steak is my favorite cut of meat. There is just so much you can do with it. It cooks fast, marinates well and if cooked just right, it will absolutely melt in your mouth. However, I almost wish that I had made this on Sunday instead of Monday. This took longer than I thought it would for a week night. I was in the kitchen for an hour and a half. That is a long time, when you get home at 7pm.

Tacos al Carbon adapted from myrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red bell pepper (about 1 medium)
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onion (about 1 medium)
1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
4 garlic cloves, minced/I used Garlic Press
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
6 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
Preparation

Marinate the steak first. Rub the Steak with salt, pepper & garlic. Pour lime juice in the mix and rub well. Let marinate for 30-40 minutes. With marinating red meat, the longer the better. I was in a hurry, so I let the steak marinate, while I prepared the rest of the veggies.

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add bell pepper to pan, and cook 4 minutes. Add onion to pan, and sauté 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Place pepper mixture in a large bowl; cover and keep warm.
Add beef to pan; cook 7 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Add to pepper mixture. Add chili powder, to bowl; toss to coat.
Heat tortillas according to package directions. Spoon steak mixture evenly over 8 tortillas. Top each taco with about 1 teaspoon cilantro and 2 1/4 teaspoons sour cream.

Spaghetti Bolognese

I made this dish out of sheer curiosity. It seemed so simple to make, but it wasn't.I think a true bolognese is a dish that is passed down from generations, each family with its own superb version. This superb version, to be the ultimate creation of several trials and errors. My first attempt was delicious, though I have a feeling this dish will evolve to become a family favorite.


Here is my try at the Italian classic

Spaghetti Bolognese

1 lb ground lean beef
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 medium sized chopping onions
1 29 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes in juice
3 small garlic cloves
Italian seasoning
1/4th cup red wine
salt
pepper
Oil
Cooked spaghetti

Heat oil in a saucepan. Sautee garlic when hot and then put in the onions. Sautee onions till medium, add carrots. Mix both together, till vegetables are soft. Add in italion seasonings and beef. Cook well, not dark brown. It will still have to simmer, and you don't want the beef to fry, as you want the sauce to be tender. Add the wine, simmer for about 5 mins on low heat till liquid evaporates. Add, the whole peeled tomatoes (pull them apart by hand before putting them in the beef). Mix well, add some juice from the tomatoes (add tomato sauce to sub). Simmer on real low for about half an hour. Serve with freshly cooked spaghetti.

Pot Roast

Its fall. The leaves are changing, the air is getting brisk and its time to put something warm and fulfilling on the dining room table. I had a few ideas that I wanted to make tonight, but there was only one thing that I was absolutely craving. Pot Roast! It had been a year since I last made this dish, and with such a great turn over with the Roshashana Brisket- it seemed like the ideal candidate.

So, off we went. The old Whole Foods by us that used to once be at a walking distance, now is operating within driving distance and is twice the size . I love going to the supermarket. Yeah, I am a weirdo- but nothing thrills me than going to a brand new store, especially when it happens to be your favorite. There were so many different varieties of the same thing. I bought a bag of mixed peppercorns, for something I will definitely try at another date.Their meat market is super fantastic. There were so many different types of fresh meat available Yippeee!!. Anyway, I got home and decided to get cooking right away. Since a pot roast takes a good 2 1/2 hrs to cook, it was exactly 4 pm and I also wanted to cook dessert.

Pot Roast
Serves 4

2 1/2 lb chuck roast
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
1 whole red onion sliced fine
Handful of baby carrots whole
6 small (tiny, or small red pot.) yukon gold potatoes, quartered
1 cup plum/vine chopped tomatoes
3 small pressed garlic cloves
Salt & Pepper

Pre Heat the oven to 325 degrees

Heat the dutch oven with a little bit of oil. Rub salt and black pepper all over the chuck and then sear it on both sides. About 5 mins on each side. Remove from pan. Throw in the garlic, and then the onions. Sautee the onions with the garlic till the onions are very soft. Mix in the broth, red wine and add the meat back into the pot. Then put in the ketchup & Worcestershire sauce. Mix and let it simmer.Remove from the stove and place right into the oven. Let it cook for 60 mins. Add the potatoes and the carrots. Cook another 50 mins or till veggies are cooked through.